I hit 17MPH one time on my AI and the center hull was skipping up and out of the water. I felt it was about the upper limit and any more and something would have gone terribly wrong. I probably wouldn't do it again - would reef in that kind of wind.

There is about 1 - 1.5 knots of current at Scarborough Qld, which would not have assisted him in the direction he did in that wind, a SE'er, as he was on a reach till the last footage, a run.If you look closely at the video there is rarely a whitecap. At only 15 knots SE at Scarborough there are numerous whitecaps, at 20 -25 knots, like he claimed it built to in squalls (none in the video), it is 50 % whitecaps - the fetch is 35 - 50 kms. There would have been hundreds if the wind was that speed, but it wasn't anywhere near it

Is this spooks video? Have not heard any real details from him so I won't judge him. He gave the date - if you folks have historical weather data, it should be easy to check.

I can't read the GPS, but speeds near that would be possible running the right type of swell in +20knot winds. Particularly on a TI, on the Hakas.

Video of downwinds is usually deceptive. You can be running at >8knots and it looks like your standing still, cuz your moving near the speed of the wave. Next thing you know, your crashing into the back of a wave...your speed slingshots from crest to trough.

If you see the waves pass under you on a run, you're likely NOT doing >=12knots. Once you start overtaking them, you are. You might accelerate until the hull buries or you get back winded.

In a powerboat, we generally have to exceed 15knots to outrun a coastal swell of about 5 ft. I noticed the boat overtaking small waves several times which indicated great speed for a period.

It's a fun video anyway, though inconclusive and way too long. And that's a nasty weather front out there, for sure. Good day to hug the shoreline.

We're looking at 20-30 knot winds through this weekend. Wish Kbob was here to drag race. Keep an eye on his GPS tracks.

@ tonystott, who's vid was that you posted up a link for... the driver of that AI/TI didn't look like they cared and turned into a few waves and let them crash over him a few times... i usually try to avoid that if at all possible, but who knows. also he cut off that one paddle boarder pretty hard,, bad sportsmanship there. maybe he was just a rook

that location/weather looked like a mean spot to catch some waves though and would be sure fun to practice on, whether on a board or in a AI/TI... thanks for the link.